NASHVILLE -- With their FIFA Club World Cup lives on the line, LAFC were blanked, 1-0, by ES Tunis on Friday afternoon at GEODIS Park in Nashville, Tennessee. The Black and Gold are now 0-2 in group stage play without a score in either contest.
The lone goal of the contest came from ES Tunis's Youcef Belaïli, who finally broke a tense scoreless battle in the 70th minute on a second effort.
⚽️ BELAILI PUTS IT AWAY!@ESTunis1919 is up 0-1!
— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) June 20, 2025
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Esperance held possession for just under 40% of the contest, yet matched LAFC with 10 shot attempts and put five of them on goal, compared to only two for Los Angeles.
LAFC had numerous chances throughout the contest, with their closest and most heartbreaking coming deep in stoppage time of the second half. In the 98th minute, they were awarded a penalty following VAR review, giving Denis Bouanga one final chance to bring his side even and keep them temporarily alive.
The leading goal scorer for Los Angeles stepped up to fire and was sent away by Tunis goalkeeper Ben Said, who managed to knock it away with his cleats as he dove to his left.
BEN SAID SAVES IT FOR @ESTunis1919 !!!!!!!!!!
— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) June 21, 2025
INCREDIBLE SCENES!
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On the other side, LAFC goalie Hugo Lloris put forward a solid effort to prevent Tunis from adding on any other scores earlier in the match. He totaled three saves, including a nice deflection in the 49th minute to keep the game scoreless.
🧤 HUGO LLORIS KEEPS IT OUT!
— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) June 20, 2025
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Los Angeles nearly jumped on the board first in the 28th minute as 19-year-old David Martinez rocketed one past Said after he deflected the initial try from Ryan Hollingshead. They were also turned away in the 20th minute as Bouanga snuck offside and his goal try was waved off.
ES Tunis is now 1-1 in group stage play as Friday's victory avenged a 2-0 loss to Flamengo on June 16. They will have an opportunity to advance to the knockout rounds depending on how they fare against Chelsea on June 24.
As for LAFC, they will have one last match against Flamenco on Tuesday, June 24. The Brazilian powerhouse currently holds first place in Group D after taking victories against both Chelsea and ES Tunis.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. PT.